Knock-down shelter



A 26, 1953 A. E. ARMSTRONG, JR 2,848,757

KNOCK-DOWN SHELTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 15, 1956 INVENTOR.

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ATTQRNEYS Aug. 26, 1958 A. E. ARMSTRONG, JR

KNOCK-DOWN SHELTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 15, 1956 INVENTOR. flhkoZE. firmly, J1: BY

ATTORNEYS United KNGCELDSWN Si-ELTER Abbott E. Armstrong, Sin, Pasadena, Tex, assignor of one-half to Billy .i. Golden, Pasadena, Tex.

The invention relates to shelters and more particularly to an inexpensive, knock-down shelter adapted for use as a carport, boatport or shelter, roadside stand and the like, which may be quickly and easily erected and assembled.

It is an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive and readily assembled shelter comprising spaced supporting posts for supporting a corrugated sheet metal roof and sheet metal Walls extending partially or wholly from top to bottom of the sides and one end of the structure.

Another object is to provide such a shelter in which the corrugated sheet metal roof has a slight slope or pitch for drainage of moisture.

A further object is to provide a shelter of the character referred to having angular clips or tabs upon the roof for quickly and easily attaching light gauge side wall sheets thereto.

A still further object is to provide a shelter of this type having straps encircling the support posts for detachably connecting the side and end wall sheets thereto.

A further object is to provide cross braces between the support posts for preventing end or side collapsing of the shelter.

Another object is to provide cast or pre-formed metal pedestals for securing the bottoms of the supporting posts to the ground.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such a shelter in which the side walls and end wall are formed of light gauge metal sheets having spaced louvers therein to permit the passage of air pressure therethrough so as to minimize the danger of collapse by high winds.

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from the drawings and following description, or which may be later referred to, may be attained by constructing the improved knock-down shelter in the manner hereinafter described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In general terms, the invention may be briefly described as comprising support posts, preferably formed of square cross section, of sufiicient size to support the light gauge sheet metal walls and corrugated roof. One post is located at each corner and another post is preferably located midway of the ends on each side.

The shelter is generally of elongated, rectangular plan of suitable dimensions for housing an automobile, small boat or the like, or for such other purposes as the shlter may be intended.

The corner posts may be anchored to the ground by means of cast or pre-formed metal pedestals anchored in position upon the ground by stakes or the like and each having a central opening or' socket to receive the lower end of a post.

The roof is preferably formed of light gauge corrugated sheet metal to give rigidity and stilfness and has slight transverse slope or pitch for drainage. Cross braces may be provided to'tie the support posts together in order to prevent end or side collapse of the structure.

Light gauge sheet metal walls are provided along both sides one end of the structure and may extend partial- FP' Patent 2 ly or entirely from the roof to the ground. These side and end walls may be attached to the roof by angular tabs or clips to which they are bolted or otherwise detachably connected, and may be attached to the support posts by means of metal straps encircling the posts and bolted to the side and end Walls.

Louvers or similar openings are preferably provided in the side and end Wall sheets to permit the passage of air pressure therethrough while preventing rain from passing into the interior of the shelter.

Having thus briefly described the invention, reference is now made to the embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which;

Fig. l is a perspective view of a shelter constructed in accordance with the invention, showing the walls eX- tending only partially from the roof toward the ground;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the shelter shown in Fig. 1 showing the opposite end of the shelter from that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 2 showing one corner post with portions of the roof and one side wall and showing the end wall in section;

Fig. 4 is a transverse, fragmentary, sectional view through a corner post and adjacent end portions of the end wall and one side wall, showing the strap for attaching the same to the post, taken as on the line 4-4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the shelter in which the end wall and side walls extend from the roof to the ground;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, longitudinal section taken as on the line 66, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view taken on the line 77, Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, horizontal, sectional view through a corner post showing a portion of one side wall and the strap for attaching the same to the post.

Referring now to the embodiments of the invention illustrated, in which similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout, the shelter is adapted to be supported upon a plurality of support posts, indicated generally at lit), which are preferably square in cross section and of suitable size to adequately support the structure. These posts are preferably formed of wood which may be redwood, cedar or the like, or which may be painted or otherwise treated so as to preserve the same against the action of the elements.

For most purposes the shelter may be of elongated, rectangular shape, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 5, in which case support posts are located at the four corners of the structure and an additional support post is located midway between the corner posts on each side.

For the purpose of anchoring the support posts to the ground, cast or pre-formed metal pedestals 11 may be provided at least for the corner posts. Each of these pedestals has a central opening or socket 12 of a size and shape to accommodate the lower end of a corresponding post.

The pedestals 11 may be anchored to the ground by means of stakes or spikes 13 located through suitable apertures in the corner portions of the pedestals and driven into the ground.

For the purpose of preventing end or side collapse of the structure, cross braces 14 may tie the supporting posts together along both sides and one end of the shelter, opposite ends of each cross brace being connected to the top and bottom portions of adjacent posts as by screws or bolts 15 and 16 respectively.

The roof is formed of light gauge corrugated sheet metal, as indicated at 17, and the corrugations at the edges of adjacent sheets may be overlapped as indicated at so as to provide water-tight joints.

Transversely disposed joists or beams 19 may be attached to the upper ends of the posts 10 in any usual or well known manner, the roofing sheets 17 being mounted thereon and connected thereto byany conventional means;

For the purpose of providing drainage, the corrugated sheetroofing 17 should have a sufiicient slope transversely, as in usual and well known practice, In Figs. 1 and the slope of the roof is indicated from right to left and in Fig. 2 the slope is from left to right, as viewed in the drawings.

Angular tabs or clips 20 may be integrally formed upon, or fixedly connected to, the edge portions of the corrugated roofing sheets 17, for the attachmentof side and end wall members. These'side and end walls may be formed of light gauge sheet metal.

7 For some purposes the side and end wall sheets may be in the form of a narrow fringe or valance extending a relatively short distance downwardly from the roof, while in other cases it may be desirable to provide side walls and at least one end wall extending the full distance from the roof to the ground.

Where the shelter is used as a boatport or a carport for sheltering either a small'boat or an automobile, the walls, regardless of their height will be provided along both side walls and only one end.

In case the shelter is to be used for a roadside stand or similar purpose, it will be evident that one side and both ends should be provided with Walls, while the other side should remain open.

In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the side walls and end wall are each in the form of a relatively narrow sheet forming a fringe or valance extending downward for ,a short distance from thereof, the side walls being indicated at 21 and the end-wall at 22. i

For the purpose of providing for dissipation of wind pressure, so as to'prevent damage to the structure by windstorms, suitable openings, such as the louvers indicated at 23, may be provided in the side walls 21 and end wall 22.

The upper edges of these sheet metal walls may be detachably connected to the angular tabs or clips 20.

upon the roofing sheets as by bolts or screws 24, thus providing for cheaply and quickly securing the light gauge end walls to the roof.

In order to provide simple and effective means for quickly and easily attaching the light gauge end and side wall sheets to the support posts 10, metal straps 25 are provided, encircling the posts and detachably connected to the wall sheets by bolts or screws 26.

In Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive, the structure is the same as above described with the exception that the end" and side walls 22a and 21a respectively extend the full height from the roof to the ground. Openings, such as the louvers 2311, may be provided over the entire surface of the end and side wall sheets. i

The sheet metal straps 25a, encircling the posts 10 and connected to the end and side walls, are the same as illustrated and described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4.

From the above it will be apparent that an inexpensive knock-down structure is provided comprising pedestals for anchoring the support posts to the ground, and having a light gauge corrugated sheet roof providing rigidity and stiffness, the roof being sloped sufiiciently for drainage, and having means for quickly'and cheaply securing the light gauge end and side walls to the support posts and to the roof, with means for bracing the support posts to prevent end or side collapse.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom-rheyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

' Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated and described herein are by way of example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, the operation, and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful construction, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1; A knock-down shelter construction of elongated rectangular shape comprising spaced vertical support posts located at the corners of said elongated rectangular shelter and intermediate the corners along the two longer sides of the shelter, transversely disposed beams only attached to the upper. ends of the posts and connecting the posts in pairs, corrugated sheet metal roofing located upon the upper surfaces of said transversely disposed beams, sheet metal end and side walls located against the outer sides of the support posts, sheet metal straps entirely encircling the upper and lower end portions .of the support posts, opposite end portions of each sheet metal strap being located together fiatwise and contacting the inner surface of the adjacent endor side walls, means detachably connecting the sheet metal side and end walls to said end portions of the sheet metal straps and providing the only means for attaching said end and side walls to said posts, depending angular clips at the edges of the corrugated roofing sheets, and means detachably connecting the upper edge portions of the sheet metal end and side walls to said angular clips and providing the only means for attaching said corrugated. sheet metal roofing. 1

2. A knock-down shelter construction of elongated rectangular shape comprising spaced vertical support posts located at the corners of saidelongated rectangular shelter and intermediate the corners along the two longer sides of the shelter, transversely disposed beams only attached to the upper ends of the posts and connecting the posts in pairs, corrugated sheetmetal roofing located upon the upper surfaces of said transversely disposed beams, sheet metal end and side walls located against the outer sides of the support posts, said sheet metal end and side walls having horizontally and vertically spaced louvers therein, sheet metal straps entirely encircling the upper and lower end portions of the support posts, opposite end portions of each sheet metal strap being located together flatwise and contacting the inner surface of the adjacent end or side wall, means detachably connecting the sheet metal side and end walls to said end portions of the sheet metal straps and providing the onlymeans for attaching said end and side walls to said posts, depending angular clips at the edges of the corrugated roofing sheets, and means detachably connecting the upper edge portions ofthe sheet metal end and sidewalls to said angular clips and providing the only means for attaching said corrugated sheet metal roofing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 396,918 Butler Jan. 29,1889 673,327 Reeve Apr. 30, 1901 1,052,960 Rasmussen, Feb. 11, 1913 1,124,063 Rosenheim Jan. 5, 1915 1,267,084 Knox May 21, 1918 1,340,561 Rowan May 18, 1920 1,468,100 Baldwin Sept. 18, 1923 2,078,969 Patterson May .4, 1937 2,078,970 Patterson May 4, 1937 2,760,238 Lane Aug..28,

FOREIGN PATENTS 540,925 Great Britain Nov. 5, 1941 

